UNH Researchers: We Can Reverse Course on Climate Change

Two researchers who have read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report released earlier this month say that although some damage to the Earth due to human activity is irreversible, there is still time to prevent many of the most deadly effects.

Mary Stampone, assistant professor of geography at the University of New Hampshire and N.H. State Climatologist, said winters are warming the fastest of all of the seasons in the Granite State.

Stampone does expect sea-level rise on the Seacoast to continue to rise even if action is taken.

"By far, the main driver of the climate change is related to human activity and the release of greenhouse gases," Stampone said.

Stampone and Cameron Wake, a research professor in climatology and glaciology at the University of New Hampshire, both agree that immediate action needs to take place to slow down the impacts humans have had on the Earth.

"It's real. It's us. It's bad. Scientists agree. We can fix it," Wake said.

For almost two centuries, scientists have researched the ways that human behavior impacts the environment around them.

"Science doesn't care what you believe. Science is," Wake said. "We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that humans are the main driver of climate change."

Wake calls on politicians to stop taking money from the fossil fuel industry and to open up the market for solar and wind energy.

"We should not be electing anybody who does not take climate change seriously," Wake said.

All Americans can do their part to reduce emissions to zero by 2050 and a large percentage of them are willing to help.

Here's what your family can do:

-Weatherize your home

-When your furnace needs to be replaced, consider a different heating source

-Drive vehicles that get good gas mileage, or go electric

-Consider putting solar panels on your roof

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.